Kanda Myojin (Kanda Shrine), Tokyo

“Kanda Myojin” (Kanda shrine) in Sotokanda, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo is the Edo Sochinju (the center place to pray for local gods) located in kimon-yoke (to protect people from evil) of Edo Castle. It is an indispensable shrine that has Otemachi and Marunouchi, the center of the Japanese economy, as an area of ​​parishioners, praying for business luck in the city center and prosperous business. The official name of “Kanda Myojin” is called “Kanda Jinja (Shrine)”. It is known as a shrine that has been taking the famous “Kanda Festival” as one of the three biggest festivals in Japan and one of the Edo three major festivals, and has long been loved and respected by the people of Edo for a long time. More than 300,000 visitors come every year during the New Year’s visit to the city, attracting attention as one of the most sacred places in Tokyo. The precincts are located in downtown area and have good transportation and many visitors come as shrines that can visit casually.psy.ritsumei.ac.jp
In Ichinomiya, there are enshrined “Daikoku” (God of marriage), Ninomiya “Ebisu” (God of business prosperity), Sannomiya “Taira no Masakado” (God of all games and luck) “. It is said that Tatari – gami (cursing god) of Edo, the guardian god of the game, “Taira no Masakado” is regarded as a substantial god of deity, and strong worship is brought to worshipers.
In “Kanda Myojin” which has a history of 1,300 years since it was settled in Tokyo, there is a powerful Setsumatsu sha (smaller shrines managed under the shrine) so as to surround the back of the Shrine buildings. Let’s visit the shrine while thinking about the history of 1,300 years.

Kanda Myojin is said to be one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Tokyo, and its history is approximately 1,300 years since Nara era. It has been ardently worshiped as “The Guardian of Edo” by common people in Edo era not to mention the Shogunate. Even now, It is the “Ujigami” (the local Shinto deity) of 108 town councils of the Tokyo downtown area including Nihonbashi and Marunouchi.

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The enshrined deity of Kanda Myojin is Daikoku (God of marriage), Ebisu (God of business prosperity), and Taira no Masakado (God of the disaster prevention and warding off evil).

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It is also known as the venue of “The Kanda Festival” that is one of three great festivals of Edo. The festival is held in the middle of May once in two years. It has the museum displaying picture scroll books in its establishment.

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From antiquity down to the present, Kanda Myojin that is popular among ordinary people as the Guardian of Edo, keeps splendid traditional culture of there, and continue protecting it.

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The main shrine of Kanda Myojin have disappeared once by the Great Kanto Earthquake. The main shrine of the total vermilion lacquer coat was completed again in 1934. The main shrine, which has survived the Tokyo air raids in 1945, revived in a beautiful figure of the Edo era by great restoration carried out from the Showa era through the Heisei era, It registered with the tangible cultural properties of the country in September, 2003.